Mark Stewart

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Julia Roberts showed great box-office legs as Universal's "Erin Brockovich" held on to the top spot on the chart.
"Erin Brockovich" The R-rated dramatic comedy, co-financed by Universal and Columbia, finished first in its second week with a sexy estimated $19.03 million (-32%) at 2,851 theaters (+3 theaters, $6,675 per theater). Its total to date is approximately $56.3 million.
"This is a picture that is obviously a crowd pleaser," Universal Distribution President Nikki Rocco said Sunday morning. "The exit polls were very indicative that the picture would have legs, and now we're just playing out.
"It's a difficult marketplace because the Academy Awards (Best Picture nominees) did take a huge visibility on a weekend like this. It's quite obvious when you look at what 'Cider House Rules' and 'American Beauty' did. There were tons of activity last night on the Academy nominated films. We had calculated this into the (release) plan. That's why we opened last weekend."
How will Sunday's Oscar telecast affect "Erin"? "We certainly feel that 'Erin' will suffer," Rocco replied. "We would normally have a great Sunday with this kind of film, and we know it will be impacted to some extent. We show that we're down 32% in our estimate. If it weren't for the Oscars, we probably would have been down 20%."
A drop of only 20% would have given "Erin" a gross of about $22.5 million for the weekend, about $3.5 million more than it's likely to wind up with, given its Oscar competition.
"We've got our version of Super Tuesday going the weekend of April 7, where we have six major (international) territories releasing, including the U.K., Spain and Germany," Sony Pictures Releasing President Jeff Blake said Sunday morning.
"I think it's a real sign of the times that even though Erin Brockovich is not a familiar name (abroad), certainly Julia Roberts is not an unfamiliar name. So we felt good about being aggressive and putting the international territories very close to the U.S. date. I think the tremendous publicity it's getting out of its back-to-back No. 1 finishes -- and I wouldn't bet against it next week, either -- will really put us in a great place. I think pretty much everyone around the world has now heard of 'Erin Brockovich.'"
Sony and Universal, he noted, "are 50% partners in everything around the world. They're releasing domestic, and we're releasing internationally."
Directed by Steven Soderbergh, it stars Roberts, Albert Finney and Aaron Eckart.
Warner Bros.' R-rated hip-hop, kung-fu movie "Romeo Must Die" kicked off in second place with a knock 'em dead estimated $18.58 million at 2,641 theaters ($7,035 per theater). Its total to date after five days is approximately $25.1 million.
Its per-theater average was the highest for any film playing in wide release this weekend.
Directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak and produced by Joel Silver and Jim Van Wyck, it stars Jet Li, Aaliyah, Russell Wong, DMX and Delroy Lindo.
"'Romeo' is performing extremely well," Warner Bros. Distribution President Dan Fellman said Sunday morning. "The exit polls are excellent. CinemaScore actually ranked it an A-minus, which parallels our own exits. The majority of the audience is split evenly between male and female under 25. That's driven by Jet Li, Aaliyah, the music, the MTV video and, of course, a fantastic campaign created by (Warners' creative advertising head) Joel Wayne.
"It's the second-largest three-day opening of any action-adventure movie from January through April. That's only behind 'The Matrix.' Joel Silver has one and two (having produced 'Matrix' for Warners)."
New Line's R-rated suspense thriller "Final Destination" held on to third place in its second weekend, holding well with an estimated $7.10 million (-29%) at 2,587 theaters (theater count unchanged, $2,744 per theater). Its total to date is approximately $20.3 million.
Directed by James Wong, it stars Devon Sawa, Ali Larter and Kerr Smith.
"We're thrilled out of our minds," New Line distribution head David Tuckerman said Sunday morning. "For a teen-age horror picture to drop 29% when we had two teen-age pictures plus 'Romeo Must Die' open up on top of us -- it's terrific. We were hoping (for only a) 40% drop. Six million dollars would have been great."
Where does it wind up? "I would say it's going to be $35 million," Tuckerman speculated.
Buena Vista/Touchstone's "Mission to Mars" was falling in its third week, down two orbits to fourth place with a slower estimated $5.80 million (-48%) at 3,101 theaters (+41 theaters, $1,870 per theater). Its total to date is approximately $49.3 million.
Twentieth Century Fox's PG-13-rated romantic drama "Here on Earth" arrived in fifth place with a quiet estimated $4.60 million at 1,712 theaters ($2,687 per theater).
Directed by Mark Piznarski and produced by David T. Friendly, it stars Chris Klein, Leelee Sobieski and Josh Hartnett.
Columbia's PG-13-rated teen-appeal romantic comedy "Whatever It Takes" from Phoenix Pictures took only enough ticket sales to open in sixth place with a calm estimated $4.30 million at 2,272 theaters ($1,893 per theater).
Directed by David Raynr, it stars Shane West, Marla Sokoloff and Jodi Lyn O'Keefe.
"It's a $15 million picture (in terms of cost), and we should gross that," Sony Pictures Releasing President Jeff Blake pointed out Sunday morning. "And with spring break coming up, the weekdays should be pretty good. We certainly won't get hurt. And it should have nice ancillaries."
DreamWorks' R-rated drama "American Beauty," the front-running Best Picture Oscar contender, held on to seventh place in its 28th week with a still beautiful estimated $3.90 million (+25%) at 1,662 theaters (+1 theater, $2,347 per theater). Its total to date is approximately $108.4 million.
Directed by Sam Mendes, it stars Kevin Spacey and Annette Bening.
Warner Bros. PG-rated family drama "My Dog Skip" from Alcon Entertainment fell four rungs to eighth place in its 11th week with an OK estimated $3.24 million (-38%) at 2,331 theaters (theater count unchanged, $1,390 per theater). Its total to date is approximately $26.2 million.
Directed by Jay Russell, "Skip" stars Frankie Muniz, Diane Lane, Luke Wilson and Kevin Bacon.
Miramax's PG-13-rated Best Picture Oscar contender "The Cider House Rules" fell one notch to ninth in its 16th week with a solid estimated $2.80 million (+13%) at 1,671 theaters (-67 theaters, $1,675 per theater). Its total to date is approximately $49.7 million.
Directed by Lasse Hallström, it stars Tobey Maguire, Charlize Theron, Delroy Lindo, Paul Rudd and Michael Caine.
"It was at $23 million before the nominations," Miramax's David Kaminow, senior vice president for marketing, pointed out Sunday morning. He noted that "Cider" had more than doubled its total to date thanks to its high profile in the Oscar race (with seven nominations).
Rounding out the Top Ten was Warner Bros.' "The Whole Nine Yards," the R-rated 'hit' comedy from Morgan Creek and Franchise Pictures, down four pegs in its sixth weekend with a quieter estimated $2.08 million (-37%) at 2,109 theaters (-394 theaters, $985 per theater). Its total to date is approximately $54.2 million.
Directed by Jonathan Lynn, "Yards" stars Bruce Willis and Matthew Perry.
OTHER OPENINGS Last weekend also saw the arrival of USA Films' R-rated drama "Waking the Dead," placing 26th with a not very lively estimated $0.18 million at 63 theaters ($2,860 per theater).
Directed by Keith Gordon, it stars Billy Crudup and Jennifer Connelly.
SNEAK PREVIEWS Last weekend saw MGM hold 640 sneak previews Saturday night of its PG-rated romantic comedy "Return to Me."
"They were s upendous," an MGM spokesperson said Sunday morning. "About 60% were either sold out or three-quarters full. We did exit polls, and 85% were in the Top Two Boxes (excellent or very good) with an 80% definite recommend. They're pretty tremendous. It was 60% female."
"Return" opens Apr. 7 at about 2,000 theaters.
Directed by Bonnie Hunt, it stars David Duchovny and Minnie Driver.
EXPANSIONS On the expansion front, last weekend saw Fox Searchlight's "Boys Don't Cry" widen in its 24th week, placing 17th and benefiting from its Oscar acting nominations with an estimated $0.77 million (+51%) at 285 theaters (+25 theaters, $2,712 per theater). Its total to date is approximately $7.9 million.
Directed by Kimberly Peirce, it stars Hilary Swank, a leading contender in the Best Actress Oscar race, and Chloë Sevigny, a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nominee.
"It's caught four waves of publicity," Fox Searchlight Distribution President Stephen Gilula said Sunday morning. "The year-end Best Actress critics awards. Then it got the Golden Globes. Then it got the (Oscar) nominations. Two weeks ago, (Swank) had a round of publicity through all the talk shows -- from Charlie Rose to Rosie -- and then this week we've got the awards. With The Wall Street Journal (prediction that Swank would win), she got a whole new wave (of publicity). It's absolutely phenomenal.
"The surge that we've seen (is) in many of the theaters that have playing a long time. At the Sunset (in West Hollywood), in the 23rd week, it's up 80% this weekend. It's quite extraordinary. In New York City, theaters are up 40-50-60%, theaters that have been playing it for months. Each time we've had a round of publicity, it sort of reaches the consciousness of another group of moviegoers."
USA Films PG-rated suspense drama reissue "Rear Window" widened in its 10th week, placing 29th with a quiet estimated $0.069 million (-22%) at 39 theaters (+2 theaters, $1,780 per theater). Its total to date is approximately $1.4 million.
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, it stars James Stewart and Grace Kelly. Robert Harris and James Katz restored the 1954 film classic.
WEEKEND COMPARISONS Key films -- those grossing more than $500,000 for the weekend -- took in approximately $80.41 million, up about 23.20% from the comparable weekend last year when key films grossed $65.27 million.
This weekend's key film gross was down about 6.95% from this year's previous weekend, when key films grossed $86.42 million.
Last year, DreamWorks' second week of "Forces of Nature" was first with $9.44 million at 2,224 theaters ($4,244 per theater) and Warner Bros.' fourth week of "Analyze This" was second with $8.67 million at 2,537 theaters ($3,418 per theater). The top two films one year ago grossed $18.1 million. This year, the top two films grossed an estimated $37.6 million.
STUDIO MARKET SHARES Based on business by key films, last weekend's top six distributors were the following:
Warner Bros. was first with four films ("Romeo Must Die," "My Dog Skip," "The Green Mile" and "The Whole Nine Yards") grossing an estimated $24.52 million or 30.5% of the market.
Universal was second with one film ("Erin Brockovich") grossing an estimated $19.03 million or 23.7% of the market.
Buena Vista (Disney, Touchstone) was third with four films ("Mission to Mars," "The Tigger Movie," "The Sixth Sense" and "Fantasia 2000") grossing an estimated $9.40 million or 11.7% of the market.
New Line was fourth with one film ("Final Destination") grossing an estimated $7.10 million or 8.8% of the market.
20th Century Fox (Fox and Fox Searchlight) was fifth with two films ("Here on Earth" and "Wonder Boys") grossing an estimated $5.37 million or 6.7% of the market.
Sony Pictures Releasing (Columbia and TriStar) was sixth with one film ("Whatever It Takes") grossing an estimated $4.30 million or 5.3% of the market.
ADDITIONAL ESTIMATES
(11) "The Ninth Gate"/Artisan Theaters: 1,684 (+37) Gross: $1.72 million (-51%) Average per theater: $1,015 Total to date: $15.4 million
(12) "Fantasia 2000"/BV/Disney Theaters: 54 (0) (all IMAX) Gross: $1.40 million (domestic) (-8%) Average per theater: $26,123 Total to date: $36 million (domestic)
(13) "The Sixth Sense"/BV/Touchstone Theaters: 876 (-2) Gross: $1.30 million (+25%) Average per theater: $1,500 Total to date: $290.3 million
(14) "Snow Day"/Paramount Theaters: 1,924 (-463) Gross: $0.88 million (-60%) Average per theater: $455 Total to date: $57.7 million
(15) "The Tigger Movie"/BV/Disney Theaters: 1,360 (-341) Gross: $0.90 million (-49%) Average per theater: $665 Total to date: $43.0 million
(16) "Drowning Mona"/Destination Theaters: 1,126 (-587) Gross: $0.79 million (-54%) Average per theater: $705 Total to date: $14.8 million
(17) "Boys Don't Cry"/Fox Searchlight (see EXPANSIONS above)
(18) "Wonder Boys"/Paramount Theaters: 1,210 (-248) Gross: $0.69 million (-42%) Average per theater: $570 Total to date: $18 million
(19) "The Next Best Thing"/Paramount Theaters: 1,682 (-353) Gross: $0.66 million (-60%) Average per theater: $390 Total to date: $14.5 million
(20) "Pitch Black"/USA Films Theaters: 917 (-467) Gross: $0.65 million (-55%) Average per theater: $705 Total to date: $37.6 million
(21) "The Green Mile"/Castle Rock/Warner Bros. Theaters: 438 (-335) Gross: $0.51 million (-15%) Average per theater: $1,164 Total to date: $135.1 million
(22) "Reindeer Games"/Dimension Theaters: 941 (-760) Gross: $0.49 million (-63%) Average per theater: $515 Total to date: $22.8 million
(23) "Beyond the Mat"/Lions Gate Theaters: 298 (0) Gross: $0.38 million (-61%) Average per theater: $1,260 Total to date: $1.6 million
(24) "3 Strikes"/MGM Theaters: 544 (-134) Gross: $0.36 million (-64%) Average per theater: $650 Total to date: $9.3 million
(25) "Scream 3"/Dimension Theaters: 763 (-553) Gross: $0.32 million (-65%) Average per theater: $415 Total to date: $86.5 million
(26) "Waking the Dead"/USA Films (see OTHER OPENINGS above)
(27) "The Hurricane"/Universal Theaters: 306 (-30) Gross: $0.13 million (-35%) Average per theater: $425 Total to date: $50 million
(28) "Topsy-Turvy"/USA Films Theaters: 101 (-8) Gross: $0.13 million (-6%) Average per theater: $1,260 Total to date: $5.6 million
(29) "Rear Window"/USA Films (see EXPANSIONS above)

Two friends (Jon Cryer and Rick Stear) find out that their missing high-school chum (Rafael Baez) is now insane and living at New York's decaying Coney Island amusement park. Naturally the guys ditch work and set out in search of their bud and spend an inordinate amount of time wandering around the ramshackle landmark talking to a weirdo skeeball guy (Frank Whaley). Over time one guy confronts his own alcoholism and the other deals with family problems. Oh yeah and they find their nutty friend.
This one's got a lot of indie cred: Whaley and Ione Skye have been doing the little-movie thing for years now and Cryer is a veteran of Schenkman's "Pompatus." The best performance is from Baez an up-and-coming actor whose depiction of mental illness (not an easy thing to do) is pretty disturbing.
This is the latest from Richard Schenkman best known for the equally talky and lethargic "The Pompatus of Love " which also was about guys in their 30s (finally) confronting adulthood. Schenkman's style of writing a directing is slow introspective and ultimately more suited to the confines of a small theater stage than the camera lens.

The second feature in the planet-conquering Japanese franchise opens with an all- Pokémon all-gibberish short feature that will have parents reaching for the Tylenol even sooner than expected then we cut to the main adventure titled "The Power of One." A scheming Pokémon Collector named Jirarudan begins snatching up winged Poki with the power to control fire lightning and ice destabilizing Earth's weather patterns. It's up to brave young Pokémon Trainer Ash Ketchum his chubby yellow pocket monster Pikachu and their friends to put things right.
It's a sad state of affairs when voice actor Ikue Otani manages to steal the show chirping his character's name over and over as the floppy-eared lightning-tailed Pikachu. The thespians lending their vocals to the human characters have less chance to be impressive saddled as they are with the film's clumsy English translation of Pokémon arcana and the occasional witless pun.
Kunihiko Yuyama's team puts no special stamp on the series' generic Japanese toon work which bears a closer resemblance to primitive TV fare in the "Speed Racer" or "Astro Boy" vein than the cutting-edge artistry going into modern anime epics such as "Princess Mononoke." Computer-rendered shots of Jirarudan's elaborate flying fortress and churning ocean waves are impressive in themselves but they clash with the traditionally animated material. Not that the grade school-age target audience is likely to mind.

Does ... this ... movie ... really ... have ... to ... be ... nearly ... two
... hours ... long? By showing Basinger's character's extensive adjustment to life in the bush the film eventually manages to tell the story of one woman's quest to find strength through her pain. Not too original.
Though Basinger doesn't give the Academy-caliber performance she did in
"L.A. Confidential " she does manage to draw you in. She's most powerful in her dramatic roles and in this movie the drama comes when she attempts to deal with the loss of her loved ones. Sadly the dashing Vincent Perez as her new husband is forgettable.
In telling this story Hugh Hudson takes his time ... too much time. Easily "I
Dreamed of Africa" could stand to lose at least 20 minutes. Hudson does know however how to get the best work out of Basinger. And kudos to the cinematographer. The vastness of the African landscape and the beauty of its sunsets are a treat.